Here’s
a
short
list
for
why
Congress
was
so
insistent
on
banishing
TikTok
from
American
soil:
the
national
security
risk
of
a
Chinese
company
potentially
accessing
American
data
and
Israel’s
obvious
losses
on
the
PR
front:
Congress
came
up
with
an
apparently
foolproof
solution
to
their
problem.
Banning
a
town
hall
like
TikTok
may
pose
some
free
speech
issues
but
as
long
as
we
lean
on
the
“We’re
doing
this
for
National
Security”
angle
and
thumb
the
scale
at
the
Supreme
Court,
there’s
not
much
the
American
people
can
do.
Right?
Unfortunately,
they’ve
forgotten
two
words
that
go
at
the
very
heart
of
what
it
means
to
be
an
American:
“Fuck
You.”
Spite
is
a
big
mover
when
it
comes
to
explaining
what
makes
us
tick
—
just
think
about
how
we
vote.
Even
if
the
data
we
share
by
using
apps
could
pose
a
legitimate
national
security
risk,
people
are
very
okay
with
China
having
their
data
if
it
means
sticking
it
to
the
man.
Enter
Xiaohongshu,
or
Little
Red
Book.
The
app
borrows
its
name
from
Chairman
Mao’s
Little
Red
Book,
an
accurate
description
of
a
bunch
of
aphorisms
and
speeches
meant
to
disseminate
Communist
Party
talking
points.
Just
to
be
clear,
I’m
not
saying
that
in
the
way
Fox
News
does
—
that’s
what
it
actually
was
and
was
meant
to
do.
You’d
be
hard
pressed
to
think
of
a
more
poetic
platform
for
Americans
to
flock
to
in
the
face
of
government
censorship.
And
as
far
as
free
speech
goes?
Looks
like
you
won’t
be
censored
for
talking
about
climate
change
worsened
wildfires
or
ongoing
genocide:
Folks
are
going
to
straight
up
learn
Mandarin
out
of
spite
and
lulz:
For
what
it
is
worth,
Congress
was
right
about
one
thing.
The
Chinese
“spies”
do
seem
very
interested
in
American
data.
It’s
just
that
the
data
in
question
are
pictures
of
the
user’s
cats:
And
who
knows
what
cascading
effects
will
come
from
seeing
more
of
what
life
is
like
in
China.
Will
the
constant
threats
from
Fox
News
that
the
woke
left
is
trying
to
turn
America
into
Communist
China
hit
the
same
after
the
public
has
fled
to
what
is
effectively
some
of
the
best
propaganda
possible?
Can
you
imagine
the
whiplash
from
reading
about
congestion
prices
in
New
York
and
America’s
poor
public
transit
woes
to
seeing
how
advanced
commutes
can
be?
Gotta
love
perverse
incentives.
There’s
been
talk
of
Elon
Musk
pulling
a
King
Twit
and
buying
TikTok
for
something
in
the
$50B
range,
but
TikTok
has
shut
that
down
as
“pure
fiction.”
What
options
are
left
for
Congress?
Block
every
international
app
that
promises
to
be
the
new
TikTok?
What
are
we,
China?
Damn,
we
can’t
use
that
expression
anymore
—
our
public
transit
doesn’t
even
hold
a
candle
to
theirs.
Earlier:
TikTok
Plans
To
Fight
Censorship,
Mouthy
Politicians
Make
It
Very
Easy
For
Them
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
cannot
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.